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Sun Devils defeat Ducks

Fueled by a 25-8 scoring surge to close out the first half, the Arizona State Sun Devils cruised to a 76-58 victory over the visiting Oregon Ducks.

A loud Saturday afternoon crowd of 7,902 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe saw the Sun Devils (14-2 overall, 3-1 Pac-10) start sluggishly before taking over the game late in the first half. In the final 8:30 before halftime, Arizona State turned a 17-16 deficit into a 41-25 lead by converting an array of layups, dunks and three-point baskets.

“Basketball is a game of runs by nature,” Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek said. “Most games you watch, there are going to be different runs. Rarely does one team have one, single run from beginning to end. The key is to have more and deeper runs than the opponent has somehow. I thought the run we had at the end of the first half was pivotal.”

The ASU scoring blitz began when senior power forward Jeff Pendergraph slammed the ball through the hoop to put the Sun Devils ahead to stay at 18-17. Derek Glasser followed with a four-point play when he nailed a three-point field goal from the right side, drew a foul and made the ensuing free throw.

Sophomore guard Jamelle McMillan hit a three-pointer from the left baseline and followed with a triple from the top of the key to extend Arizona State’s advantage to 30-20. Glasser ended the first half with a layup to make the score 41-25 at the intermission.

“We had to extend the lead going into halftime to get a little cushion,” Glasser said.

Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said his team made a plethora of mistakes on offense that led to scoring opportunities for Arizona State.

“I thought we did a really good job with it in the first half defensively where we were right there in the game,” Kent said. “And then all of a sudden there was a bad shot, there was a missed layup here or there, we had a turnover where we threw it out of bounds. I just felt they had a little bit of momentum start going for themselves and they turned the game over right there.”

The Sun Devils pushed their lead to 57-36 when sophomore Rihards Kuksiks hit a pair of three-pointers from beyond the top of the key. A rim-rattling dunk by James Harden with 11:22 remaining put ASU in front by 26 at 65-39.

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Harden, the Sun Devils’ standout sophomore guard, finished with a game-high 19 points and was one of five Arizona State players to score in double figures. Glasser, a junior guard, had 15 points and 11 assists. Kuksiks contributed 13 points, while Pendergraph and McMillan added 10 points each.

“Everybody knows James (Harden) and Jeff (Pendergraph) can score,” Glasser said. “But when we have three, four, five guys that put the ball in the hole, it’s tough to guard us because they can’t double James. He gets some one-on-one opportunities; Jeff gets one-on-one opportunities. When those guys are able to go one-on-one, it’s hard to beat us.”

With Pendergraph battling foul trouble for the entire game, junior center Eric Boateng played a key role for Arizona State, finishing with seven points and six rebounds.

Sophomore guard LeKendric Longmire led Oregon (6-10, 0-4) with 15 points. Junior guard Tajuan Porter, who came into the game leading the Ducks with a scoring average of 14.1, was held to three points in 16 first-half minutes. Porter did not play in the second half.

By Tom Kessler
DFN Sports Staff Writer